Ironing device



Feb. 18, 1941., E, E; FosjrER Inonme DEvIcE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. '9, 1937 Feb. 18, '1941. E. E. FosTER 2,231,896 Inoume bEvIcE f Filed Jan. 9, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3v Eclwi E. Ester Patented Feb. 18, 1941 mome navici: f v ndwin a. Foster, Austin, rex., asus-noit'o Maju;-

Ironers, Inc., Austin, Tex.,

Texas a corporation of Application January a, 1937, senamo. 119.879 i 21 Claims.

.apply them to an iron of the movable type instead of in a flat plat type as will be clearly understood from the following description taken in 10 connection with the accompanying drawings in 'which like parts indicate corresponding parts throughout and in which: f

Figure 1 is a side view partly in section of the ironing device,

Fig. 2 is a similar view arm and the board in 'which the iron has been moved in contact with the board,

Fig.'3 is a similar view showing thehandle actuated relative to the iron,

Fig. 4 is a side view .partly in section of the handle bracket,

Fig. is a top view of the handle bracket,

Fig. 6 is a side view partly in section of the lever arm.

Fig. '7 is a top view of the lever a rm partly in section, i

.Fig. 8 is a side view partlv` in section of the pivoting member,

Fig. 9 is a top view of the pivoting member,

Fig. is a side view of the collar, and

Fig. 11 is a top view of the collar.

.As ciearly shown in Fig. 1 the ironing device is of the type in which an ironing board ,40 has an arm li pivoted at l2 to a stationary support N of the board Mi.v The arm." is composed of two sectional portions i and' 2 pivoted to each other at l3 and these -two sectional portions i and 2 merely move in parallel horizontal' planes but they do not have any vertical movement. In other words the iron I may be moved by the handle l3 over the board li) in any direction. The construction-of the iron and its Operating parts are as follows.

The handle bracket 3, shown separately in Figs. 4v and 5 is secured to the main part of the .iron 4 by means of the hollow post 5. A lever arm 5, shown separately in Figs. 6 and 7 is-pivotallyv connected to the handle bracket atthe bearing point land the lower end of the lever G is pivotally connected .at the point 8 to a collar 9 shown separately in Figs. 10 and 11 which is flxed to the inner race of a ball bearing iii. The outside race of. the bearing ili is pressed into and secured to the portion 2 of the arm li.

ali f' provided which is preferably showing the iron, the.

[supported by .made of' a composition material such as hard rubber and is fixed to a pivoting member il, separately shown. inFigs. 8 and 9, by means of the rivet IG, This member il is pivotally mounted to the handle bracket 3 at the point 16 by means 5 of studs, thereby permitting the upper end i'i of the lever ii to coincide with the point 4IG without interference.` A spring i2 is provided 'as shown in F'igs. 1-3 tensioned at one end to the member M at the point i8 and the other end around the 10 bearing sleeve li which is provided in the upper. end of the lever ii.

Theieiectric wires to the heating element in the iron I may pass through the opening 23 in the handle bracket-8 where a coilspring and also by other suitablemeans. The iron itself issimilar to any v regular electric iron and it may be pointed at both ends instead of only at one end. As illustrated the cover .of the ironis quite low in order to 20 save space and the iron may be provided with a thermostat which can be adjusted by means of a disk dial 22 operating through the hollow post 5.

A's clearly seen in Fig. 1 the iron' 4 is supported in a counterbalanced condition on the arm li 25 through the members 6, 3 and 5 by means of the v spring i2. The spring i2 is of course always under tension and 'very -little efiort is required to move the iron down on the board from the posi-A tion shown-in Fig. 1 to thatshown in Fig. 2. It 30 will be noted 'from Figs. 1 and 2 that the arm li does not move vertically but that the iron' A itself is moved vertically between the positions of F'igs. 1 and 2.. In Fig. 3 the handle i3 has been` moved down to the'position shown in Fig. 3 but 35 this requires very little effort. v

The ironing device operates as foliows: b The operating spring i2 is under initial tension and is of such strength that it will lift the weight of the complete iron whenfthe weight of the op-. 40 -erator's hand is removed from the handle. The additional weight of the operator's hand will cause the :complete iron to move downward until it touches the material to 'be ironed at which time the point i`I on the lever 8 will coincidewith the 45 point iii on the bracket 3 and the imaginary point iii will coincide with the point 8. Now since the pivot point i'i` of the spring i2 and the pivot point ili of the member H which supports the other end of the spring i2 are in or near coincidence .the weightof the operator's hand will cause the handle to move downward about' the pivot point IG andthe center line of the tension spring i2 will be-shifted clock-wise to the opposite side of the point i where it will then cause the iron it may. be further 15 to apply pressure in addition to its own weight upon the material to ,b ironed. The pressure may be varied if desired by providing an adjustabl'estop at th'e point 20 where the member Il hits the handle bracket 3. `When in its lifting position as shown in Fig. .1, the memberv H hits the member. 3 at the point 2I,' Fig. 3, which stop should be originally designed along with the strength of the spring to provide the proper effective lifting force to a little more than necessary to overcome'the weight of the complete iron..

The arm members I and 2 have no vertical movement but are capable of pivoting 360 degrees at the shoulder 42, the elbow 43, and the wrist or bearing lll. This makes it possible to move the iron which is mounted' on the arm at the wrist through any horizontal movement over and near the ironing board. The iron derives its vertical inovement from the L-shaped member i zo which is pivoted to the handle bracket 3 at the point 1 and to the sleeve 9 at the point 8. The sleeve 9 is connected to the arm 2 through the ball bearing assembly IO. The hollow post I which connects the iron I to the handle bracket 3 is free to move vertically, to revolve, and to tilt without being hindered by the sleeve 9. The other end of the L-shaped member B carries the pivot pin I'I over which one end of the tension spring I2 is hooked. The handle I3 flts into the member Il which is pivoted to the handle bracket 3 at the 'point IG. The lower end of the pivoting member H carries the edge li on which thelower end of the spring I! rides. Figure 1 shows the iron when -in its raised position.

Figure 2 shows the iron after it has been moved adjacent the ironing board, but before the pressure is applied. Point 8 now coincides with the imaginary point I9, and point I'I coincides with the point Il. The lower end of member Il hits the stop 2! on handle bracket member 3, and as Will be seen in Figure 2, the center line of the tension spring l2 is to the right of point 'I thereby still causing a counterweighting eii'ect on the iron. Figure 3 shows the mechanism after the handle I3 has been moved downward by the mere weight of the operator's hand, and it willbe noted that :the center line of .the spring li is now on the left or opposite side of point 'I. The tension in spring I! now causes the iron to apply pressure on the material to bel ironed. The greater the distance that'the center line of the spring I! is to the left of the point 'I the greater u will be its vefl'ective pressure on the iron. At the time the center line of'the spring is directed on Y point "I, it is neither lifting nor pressing; it has the effect of being on dead center. Likewise the distance of the center line to the 'right of point 00 'I determines the eifective counterweighting .force of the spring l2. The strength of the spring I! is determined by the maximum pressure desired, and the stop II is then located at such a point that the correct counterweighting force will be 05 had. The distance of the edge IO below point 'I is also important becausevariation of this dimension has the effect of increasing or decreasing the counterweighting force at the top or bottom of the lifting stroke. -By properly locating 70 the edge IO as to distance below point 1 and to the right of point "I, a perfect fioating or counterweighting effect of the iron may be obtained through the entire limits of its vertical stroke.

On the drawings the distance between point 1.

's and point I'I is shown to be equal to the distance between point' 'I and point li. Therefore the point I'I will exactly coincide with point Il at the time the iron is adjacent to the material to be ironed. In this case the weight of the operator's hand willautomatically apply the pressure, but 5 the' handle will not return automatically. Or if the operator prefers to adjust the height of the ironing board slightly upward theironwill touch the material just before thepoint I'I coincides with point li, and-this will cause the handle to 10 rise or untrip automatically.

The reason for the handle untripping of itsJ own accord may be understood more clearly by referring to Figure i. In this view the points II and. I'I are in an 'exaggerated out of coincidence 15 position, but this shows what would occur if the board were raisedto the height of the' surface of the iron and the handle forced downward to a position wherel a center line of spring I! would 'be on the left side of point 'I. Since the handle 20 and member Il pivot about the point Il and cause the edge vII to describe an arc about point *li the spring I! will have to stretch the dis'-l tance between its present length (the distance between points n and m and its new length 25' which would be the' new distance between-point I'I in Figure 1 and point I! in Figure 3. In other words, points Il, I'I and II now form a triangle with the spring I 2 as one side of the triangle. If the two pointsli and I'I are kept stationaryil and the third point I. movedto the left and the distance between 18 and Il kept the same, then the distance between points Il and I'I will have to increase. A I

A further useful result may be obtained by 3 lengthening the distance between points V'I-and I'I so that point I'I will fall just above point Il, and cause a cam action when the handle is shifted to the pressure position. The cam action tends to stretch the spring the correct amount 40 that' is necessary to compensate for the temporary settling or spring in the pad, frame and arm. Inother words, by making the point I'I fall` directlyv above,point II the handle will still trip easily and return toits untripped podtion. So 45 that if there is considerable temporary spring in the arm, frame and pad'the point I'I should fall Just above and slightly to'the right of point II, and as the,pressure is applied the point I-'I will stay above'but move to the left of point IO. 50

'handle bracket, a lever arm connected at one end to the flrst-mentioned ,arm and the other do end to the handle bracket, and a spring constantly 'under tension and having one end secured to the. pivoting member and the other end to the lever arm. the force of said spring counterbalancing the weight of the iron when the iron is raised from the board and applying ironing pressure on the board by operation o f the pivoting member and the handle.

2. An ironing device comprising an iron, an

arm on which Vthe iron is supported and movable in a horizontal plane, laid iron being vertically mova-ble with respect to the arm, handle members for supporting'the iron on the arm. and means provided in the handle members to' counterflbaiance the weight of the iron on the 'uananasa arm and to apply ironing pressure on an ironing board when the iron contacts the board.

3. An ironing device according to claim- 2, in Which a post is provided connecting the iron to the handle.

4. An ironing device according to claim 2, in

'which the means constitutes a spring which is constantly tensioned and the force of which is utiiized to counterbalance the iron and to create the ironing pressure.

5. An ironing device comprising an iron, a handle, intermediate members between the handle and the iron-I an arm 'pivoted at one end to an ironing surface to permitrotation in a horizontal plane and connected at the other end to the intermediate members; and'means interconneeting the handle and the intermediate members to counter-balance the iron When raised from the ironing surface, said iron being movable vertically relative to the arm and said means also exerting an ironing pressure when the iron contacts the board andthe handle has been actuated relative to the intermediate members.

6. An ironing device according to claim 5,`in which the arm is in two jointed parts so that the iron can reach all points on the board.

' 7. An ironing device comprising an iron, an arm movable in a horizontal plane pivoted at one end to an ironing surface and having the iron mounted lon the` other end rotatably and movable vertically relative hereto, a handle for the iron cooperatng with the end of the arm to which the iron is mounted and having a part thereof movable relative to the other part. and means in the handle responsive to actuation of the movable part of the handle to counter-balance the weight of the iron and to apply an ironing pressure When the iron is moved on the ironing surface.

8. An ironing device according to claim 7, in which the means includes a spring shiftable to two positions of which one position counter-balances the iron and the other position provides the force for the ironing pressure.

9. An ironing device according to claim 7, in Which the means includes a spring shiftable tO two positions of which one position counterbalances the iron and the other position provides the force for the ironing pressure, said spring having its energy permanently stored therein whereby the force thereof is utilized in its different positions relative to the parts of the handle.

10. An ironing device comprising an arm pivoted at one end to an ironing surface so that the arm may move in a horizontal plane, an iron vertically movable relative to the arm, a handle bracket of the other end of the arm connected directly to the iron, a pivoting member pivoted to the handle bracket and having a manual grip portion secured therein, a lever arm pivoted at one end to the handle bracket and the other end secured to the other end of the arm, and a constantly stored energy unit having two ends connected at one end to'the pivoting member and. the other end to the lever arm which provides the force necessary to counter-balance the weight of the iron on the arm and to apply ironing pressure when the pivoting member is' actuated by the grip portion relative to the handle bracket and the lever arm.

11. An ironing device according to claim 10, in which theenergy unit is in the form of a coiled tension whereby the force thereof is utilized in oneposition to counter-balance theweight -of .the iron and rin another position to effect the ironing pressure when said spring is moved in its different positions relative to the cooperating parts of4 the handle bracket.

12. An ironing device according to claim 10, in Which a ball beating is provided in the flrst mentioned arm at the securing point of the lever arm which permits rotation `of the iron and its handle bracket.

13. An ironing device according to claim 10. in which lthe handle bracket is provided witha DOst to one end of which the iron is secured and the other end has the handlebraoket secured thereon. 4

14. An ironing device according to claim 10, in which a b all 'beating is provided in the first mentioned arm at the securing point ofthe lever arm which permits rotation of'the iron and its handle bracket, and in which a collar is provided' which forms one race for the ball bearing and the securing element for the lever arm to the first. mentioned arm.

v 15. An ironing device comprising an iron movable at will on anironing surface, a handle for 'the iron,-a constantly tensioned spring pivotally mounted in 'the handle, and means for Shifting the spring in the handle whereby the 'force in the spring applies an ironing pressure without V the expenditure o f its energy.

16. An ironing device according to claim 15,

in which the means comprises elements for moving the tensioned spring to become eifective or non-effective for ironing pressure.

17. An ironingdevice comprising an iron. means for supporting the iron over an ironing surface. so that the iron 'may be moved horizontally at will, means whereby the iron may be' moved vertically relative to the 'supporting means, a handle for` the iron, and means in the board in any direction, a movable handle for the iron, and a constantly-tensioned spring in the handle responsive to movement of the handle to raise 'the iron relative to its supporting means and to apply an ironing-pressure when the iron contacts the ironing surface upon actuation of the movable handle.

19. An ironing` device according to^claim 18, in which the means for supporting and guiding the iron over the ironing board includes two arms pivoted to each other at one end and at the other ends pivoted to the ironing board and to the iron.

20. An ironing device comprising an iron having 'an actuatable element' connected to'the iron,

lmeans for supporting4 the iron over an ironing operation of the actuator by the actuatable element.

21. '"'ironing device comprising an iron, means fo'r supporting and'guiding the iron over an ironin'g-board sothat'the iron may be manually mvedl'parallel 'to the ironing surface of the board in anydireetion, a movable handle for the iron, and a constantly-tensoned spring the handle responsive to movement of the ha: dle to mise-the iron relative to its supporth means. and tol Aapply an ironing pressure wh: the iron contacts the ironing surface upon ct' ation of the movable handle. v

EDWIN E. FOSTER.

A CERTIFICATE oF coRREcTIoN. Ptent No. 2,251,896. February 18, 19h1.

I EDwIN E. FosTER.

'It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of theabove umbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, second column, line' 1,' claim ll, after "tension" insert the word --spring--; and the said Letters Patent should be read with this corrction there- I in that the same mary eonform to the record of the case in the Patent office.

signed ana sealed this ath day of API-11, A. D. 19h1.

Henry Van Arsdale,l

(Sa'l) Acting Commissionerl of Patents. 

